It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) used to invite me (to his gatherings) with the (senior) Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and would say to me: "Do not speak until these people have spoken." One day he invited the Companions and asked them about Laylat al-Qadr: according to this saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "Seek it in the last ten," which night could it be? Some said the twenty-first, some the twenty-third, and someone said the twenty-fifth night, while I remained silent. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "What is the matter with you that you are not speaking?" I said: O Commander of the Faithful! If you permit me, I will say something too. He said: "Speak; I only called you so that you would speak." I said: "Shall I present my opinion?" He said: "That is exactly what we are asking you for." I said: "It is the seventh night (the twenty-seventh), because I have seen that Allah mentioned seven heavens, made the number of the earths seven, made seven stages in the creation of man, and also mentioned the vegetation that grows from the earth in seven kinds." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You have told me what I already know; but what is it that I do not know, that the vegetation of the earth is seven?" I said: Allah Almighty says: "Then We split the earth, cleaving it well" [Surah Abasa: 26] , until He said: "And fruit and fodder" [Surah Abasa: 31] , and "abb" (fodder) refers to the vegetation of the earth that animals eat but people do not. At this Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said (to the other Companions): "Were you unable to say something like what this boy said, whose head has not yet fully matured (that is, who is still young)? By Allah! My opinion is the same as what you said." The narrator says that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) then said to me: "I had earlier forbidden you to speak until these elders had spoken, but now I order you to speak along with them." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

When Laylat al-Qadr was mentioned in the presence of Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: "I seek it only in the last ten, on account of a hadith I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Seek it in the last ten nights, when nine (nights of the month) remain, or seven remain, or five remain, or three remain, or on the last night.'" The narrator states that in the first twenty days of Ramadan Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) would pray as usual, like the rest of the year, but when the last ten began he would strive hard and exert himself (in worship). This hadith has an authentic chain (sahih al-isnad), but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: "The one who fasts voluntarily is his own master (free to decide); if he wishes he may complete the fast, and if he wishes he may break it."

Sayyidah Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who fasts voluntarily has the choice: if he wishes he may fast, and if he wishes he may break it." The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), but the two Shaykhs did not record it, and none of the reports that contradict it is established as sahih (in its chain).

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to observe i'tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan. One year he (peace and blessings be upon him) was unable to observe i'tikaf, so when the following year came he (peace and blessings be upon him) observed i'tikaf for twenty days. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), and they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to observe i'tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan. One year he (peace and blessings be upon him) travelled and so could not observe i'tikaf; then the following year he (peace and blessings be upon him) observed i'tikaf for twenty nights.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Fasting is not obligatory upon the one in i'tikaf (merely because of the i'tikaf), unless he makes it binding upon himself (by a vow)." The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it. Although the jurists of Kufa have narrated two hadiths to the contrary, which I shall mention, they cannot match this report by the measure of the narrators' integrity.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had vowed in the Days of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah) to observe i'tikaf for one day. He then asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about it, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Complete your i'tikaf, and fast that day as well."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no (valid) i'tikaf without fasting." Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim did not use Sufyan bin Husayn and Abdullah bin Budayl as evidence.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), in explaining the saying of Allah Almighty: "And upon those who are able to do it (but do not fast), a ransom: the feeding of one poor person" [Surah al-Baqarah: 184] , said: whoever willingly adds to the good, "And whoever does good voluntarily", feeds one more poor person, "it is better for him." He said that this verse is not abrogated; rather, it applies to the elderly man who is unable to fast: he was commanded to feed (as a ransom) when he knows that he is unable to fast. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), and they did not record it.